Padded spring-cushion



o. M. BURTON '2,125,621-

PADDED SPRING CUSHION Aug.` 2, 1.938.

Filed April s, 1956 1o in such a Way that no ,45 `has been illustratedin Patented Aug. 2, (193s Pannen SPRING-cushion Gliver M. Burton,Chicago, Ill., assignor to Burton-Dixie Corporation, Chicago, Ill., acorporation of Delaware *Application April 3, 1936, serial No. 72,575

'4 Claims.

My invention` relates to padded cushions, mattresses, and the like andpertains morepartic'ularly to Istructures .of that character whichincorporate spring-units or spring-assemblies. the padding overlying theends of the springs of the assembly which are appropriately securedtogether. to form the encased spring structure.

An aim of the invention is to provide a springassembly paddedwith sisaland cotton-batting textile fabric is required to be placed over theassembly surface under the padding, to unite the sisal and cotton in amanner to obtain the maximum advantage of the propv erties of'each, topreventv the sisal from cupping l5 down into the end coils of thesprings of the assembly,` to reduce the noise ofthe padding on thespring-unit while the cushion is in service, to supply a structure oithis type which is economical to produce and hence which can be sold ata moderate figure, to provide a padded cushion which 'satisfactorilyretains its resilient and elastic properties over a long period, to makea cushion of this character which embodies few parts easily assembled atsmall cost, etc.

Heretofore it hasy been customary tov use -both sisal and cotton-battingfor the padding, and in some instances the sisal has been ,stitched to afabric-backing, whereas in other cases the sisal has been applieddirectly to the surface of the y spring-assembly without interveningfabric.

My improved gmstruction diiersffrom all of those of the priorI art and-vit possesses certain distinct a vantages in that @it embodies no fabricaside fr m'the exterior cover or tick, it uses no more sisal orcotton-batting than has heretofore been employed, and it provides abetter construction throughout in that the sisal and cotton are unitedin a novel manner and the combined materials are employed in the cushionin a new rela- ,40 tion.

To permit those acquainted with this art to fully understand theinvention both from the features of construction and mode of operation,`a present preferred embodiment of the invention drawing whichrepresents a fragmentary, vertical section through an inner-springmattress.

Referring to this drawing, it will be noticed that the innermost or rstlayer of cottonbatting Il, say, forexample, one-inch thickhas on top of'it or outside of it Vand in direct'contact with it a layer of sisal I2whose bres are more or less miscellaneously intermingled together 55 byreason of the fact that they extend in substanthe single figure of thetially all directions, this stratum, for instance,` being abouttwo-inches in thickness.

These two layers, before application to the spring-assembly I3, arepassed through a machine with' reciprocatory barbed or Vhooked needles,which needle the sisal vfibres `together in transverse rows at I4, ld,such intel-,lacing sisai fibres also being needled orv projected throughthe underlying cotton-batting layer at l5, t5.

Thus the sisal filaments are interwoven together along the cross-linesI4, I4 and they are also intertwined withthe cotton libres of the layerIl, hence interchaining or interlinklng the two Vlayers together to forma relatively-strong, combined, duplex construction.

When sisal in a spring-cushion bears directly on the surface of thespring-unit and a load is imposed thereon, the sisal-fibres slide moreor less on one another and the sisal cups or bulges down somewhat intothe open ends of the upright springs, and also whenl the cushion 'is inuse the slipping or sliding of the sisal-fibres on the springs is likelyto make an audible sound.

rihe duplex pad, however, .possesses the desirable quality that it `cupssubstantially less than sisal alone under the same conditions ofservice, the cotton-batting helping to hold the sisal-fibres in theiroriginal relations and assisting yin pre- A,venting their objectionabledisplacement or movement relatively to one another and to thespringassembly, and, for this reason, the cotton is interlaced to thesisal in the manner stated and is interposed between the latter and theface of the spring-unit.

The specified rows of the sisal-libres entangled and interwoven with oneanother and with the "fibres of the cotton-battingv contribute to this'desirable end, and the ends of the surface sisalbres also becomesomewhat embedded in the adjacent face of the cotton-batting withresulting, desirable, minor interengagement.

The two layers having been thus needled together with the statedbeneficial results, the

' duplex ordouble layer is applied to the springunit with itscotton-batting in direct contact with the springs, and, thereupon,another preferablythicker, layer of padding ting, curled hair or anyother suitablematerial, is laid on the sisal and the fabric casing,cover, or tick l1 is applied over the whole ln a. manner well understoodin the art; this outer or third layer of padding or course deslrably,but not necessarily, being about three-inches thick, that is, equallingthe combined thicknesses of the other two layers.

IG, such as cotton-baton the springs is avoided.

the springs, which assures that under all circumstances at least onesuch row will extend across the open terminal coil of each spring, theserows of intertangled ibres assisting the otherstructural features of theconstruction to reduce the cupping effect referred to by reason of theirreinforcement of the innermost cotton-stratum.

Although the drawing shows a cushion or mattress padded on both sides,it is to be understood that the invention applies equally well tospringcushions padded only on one side. '25

It follows from an understanding of the invention as defined by theappended claims and of the structure illustrated and described thatvarious minor changes may be incorporated in the cushion withoutdeparture from the heart and essence of the invention and without thesacrifice of lany of its material benets.

I claim:

1. In a padded spring-cushion, the combination of a spring-assembly, afirst cotton-batting cushion layer bearing directly on said assembly, asecond sisal cushion layer outside of and bearing on said irst layer, athird resilient padding layer outside of and bearing on said secondlayer, said second sisal layer having certain of its bres needledthrough and interlaced in spaced rows with thev fibres of said rst andsecond layers, and a cover for the padded spring-assembly.

2. The structure presented in' claim 1 in which said rows of interlacingsisal-fibres are spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of theends of the springs of the assembly, whereby at least onesuch row ofinterlacing libres will be in register-with the end of each spring.

3. The structure presented in claim 1 in which said third layer ispadding of a thickness greater than that of said rst layer.

4. The structure presented in claim 1 in which said third layer is ofcotton-batting of a thickness greater than that of said first layer andin which said rows of interlacing sisal-fibres are spaced apart adistance less than the diameter of the ends of the springs of theassembly, whereby at least one such row of interlacing fibres will be lnregister with the end of each spring.

OLIVER M. BURTON.

